Chance to Be Happy
by KittyNakajimaX
Summary: A 'remix' of sorts to the one-shot, Last Chance.


_**Author's Note:** This is somewhat of a "remix" of sorts of **Last Chance**, a one shot lemon based on the best conclusion to the romantic subplot featured in Sonic Chronicles. This is also another one-shot story, but rather than being solely Sonamy, this is actually a Shadamy and/or Sonic/Amy/Shadow one shot revolving around the undecided and "worst" outcomes of the subplot. I hope you all enjoy._

* * *

Amy flew open the door to the ship, stepped out, and ran past the others as fast as her legs could carry her. She didn't care whether or not anyone, especially _him_, came after her in the jagged, rocky wilderness that was the world of the Kron. All she knew was that she needed to get away, and _fast_. She kept up her pace until she was out of breath before slowing down, turning around to study her surroundings. Jagged, steep cliffs and rock formations that echoed those of the Wild Valley back on her home planet, all illuminated by a scorching hot star in the sky. She cursed herself mentally for neglecting to bring water with her, but rather than try and turn back, she pushed on as she remembered that the water of the world was at least somewhat suitable for drinking. _"After all, look at Nestor."_ she thought to herself. There just had to be a water source, or at least something close to it...

Eventually she came across a cave, similar in structure to the one that Nestor had situated himself in. Hoping to at least cool down, Amy entered, only to find it dark, damp, and completely vacant. "Damnit...," she muttered while sitting on a rock near the entrance. She paused, trying to think of what her next move should be while enjoying the cooler air within the cavern. Then the realization that she had most likely lost her bearings hit her like a rancid sack of potatoes. It also didn't help that she had been mostly paying attention to _him_ when they had surveyed the Kron terrain.

Alone, thirsty, lost, and with no one she knew for miles around, she cried. She was tired, no – _frustrated_ that she had kept them for so long. Feelings that she could have easily tucked away gradually given time. It wasn't like she couldn't either; he had practically left her and their friends altogether on a two year excursion on their world. No "goodbye" or "see you later", but just up and left, only saying something when the world was in danger once more. Or rather that was Tails...good old intermediate communication between the two of them. She couldn't deny that she was angry with him for leaving as he did, but the moment she saw him, her feelings had flooded back to her instantly. No amount of time or the various activities that she had occupied herself with during his absence could drown them out, though a sense of subtle bitterness had been added to the mix. She still cared for him, but those two years of not being at his side had slightly matured her and cautioned on continuing the same if they were to cross paths again.

Yet that is exactly what she had done when he had shown up a few days ago, answering the call for help. She had followed him and the rest between worlds, to this wasteland, gathering up supporters and creating alliances for this last showdown, which had not been an easy feat. This final opponent was far stronger than the rest, and had a monopoly of sorts that had pitted the rest of their allies against one another. It also didn't help matters that they were distantly related to one of their own, who had initially given the supposed object of her affections a difficult time during their first meeting.

She was scared, afraid even, of what they could do and what they were capable of, and it was that fear that had cemented her resolve to find out what his feelings for her were, once and for all. She had gotten his attention away from the others and the mission on hand as they were loading supplies unto the ship, laying her heart on her sleeve as she had done years before. She had done it with the utmost sincerity in both her heart and speech, as she had feared that she would regret not doing so if they had failed this mission.

And as if oblivious to the weight of the question, he merely brushed it off. "Don't be silly." he had told her nonchalantly. Those words had struck her like a dagger to the heart, searing into flesh and bone with the serrated metal. Her feelings, actions, even support of him had seemingly meant nothing to him. Nothing at all. She berated herself as her mind had warned her of this outcome, but her heart had told her to press on, and was suffering the consequences.

Not even her shield could have kept her from this. A worthless, hastily imagined shield named Dexter. Created from the ideals she held for a male companion – sweet, kind, generous, and giving of himself, but most importantly, devoted to only her. All those ideals were ones she could see to varying degrees in Sonic save the last, and she had used it to calm her fluttering heart whenever they had interacted during the course of this adventure. It had allowed her to see things in context and remember that he had all but abandoned her once before, and that he may only be civil and lively for the sake of their mission.

It might have worked for awhile, but she soon found herself bringing the shield down to don the rose colored sunshades of years past, seeing him in a nostalgic, yet renewed light, and ultimately sealing in the final ingredients of that pipe bomb he had attached to her heart...

It had been ignited when she had turned away from him, venom dripping with each word she had said to him afterward. "You're Sonic after all", she spat as she turned on her heel, "we have a world to save and stuff." She was still holding back her pain and sorrow, trying to keep it together for _her_ own sake. Trying to remind herself of the qualities that she saw in him that she loved.

"Amy. Wait."

_Tick. Tick. Tick..._ He had called out to her, and she listened. She turned to face him, resting her line of view at his feet as she couldn't bare to see his face at the moment.

Tick. Tick. Tick...

"I do care for you." he said after a moment's pause.

"B-but you just said..," she stuttered.

Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick...

And, as if on cue, it detonated, sending pieces of her fragile heart every which way and that on emotional needles. She was upset, sad, heartbroken, but most importantly, angry.

"Do you have ANY idea what it's like to be pushed around by a boy you like?" she practically screamed at him. "It's not fair! Grow up, Sonic! Just **grow** up!"

She had almost thought he looked sincere when he had said that. Almost. The cold, angry expression that graced his face after she had stood up to him all but proved what she her mind had warned of.

"Tell the others to come back in when you go out." he said coldly.

But she hadn't told the others because she didn't care. She was through letting him rule over her emotions and actions. She was done.

And here she was. Cold, thirsty, alone, and lost in a cave. Away from her problem. Away from him.

_Pfff...fizzzz..._

Amy whirled around, perking her ears up at the dull sound. When she heard it again, she slowly stood up, and out of the corner of her eye caught a glimpse of a glowing green light that grew both brighter and closer. Within a few minutes it had illuminated her immediate surroundings, and amidst its glow she prepared to fight what was lighting the way – a Gizoid. Fairly similar in construction to the one she had known on her world, but no where as sweet or precocious and all the more dangerous.

Upon seeing her draw her weapon, it charged at her, and Amy used her hammer to perry away to gain distance between it and herself. However, rather than using that to her advantage she was hit from behind, and then the front and sides. When it curled into a ball and charged at her, it was then that she knew that the robot had somehow managed to copy Sonic's abilities. Abilities that while she could match with her strength wasn't able to exactly match in speed despite how fast she was herself. But she could try. She wasn't that far behind him in terms of ability.

She continued to perry, biding her time for a window of opportunity in which she could give it one good whack that would shatter it completely. _"Just be patient,"_ she told herself as she forced it back with a front perry towards the cavern opening. It stunned it momentarily, and she parried again, with more force than the last towards the light outside the cave. This time the Gizoid caught it, and with brute force only befitting of Knuckles, punched her clear into a nearby wall.

Amy felt a welt growing on her right cheek, and sore all over as she struggled to get to her feet and reach her hammer, which had landed nearby. She was nearly there when the Gizoid sped by her, picking up her hammer for its use, having copied the limited move set that she had used in their fight.

"So this is how it ends...," she mumbled. She closed her eyes, resigned to her fate and accepting the death blow that might relieve her of all the pain her worn heart was feeling. But it never came, instead hearing the sudden scattering of metal. And footsteps. Half expecting to see the one who had taken her heart for granted, she opened her eyes, only to be met with a set of crimson instead.

"S-Shadow?" she rasped, as she tried to get to her feet. She had managed to get to her feet, but her knees gave way and she fell into his arms.

...they stayed that way for awhile, before he set her down to apply health leaf to her injuries, while she grabbed at his canteen and drank from it.

"You shouldn't have wandered off by yourself...," he said after a while.

"Just like you do?" she fired back. She was still angry at Sonic, and was now focusing it at him. "Don't tell me what to do. And if you think you saving me is going to make me come back to the others, think again. You'll have to take me kicking and screaming."

"Hmph." was all he replied with, and he sat down next to her, using Chaos Spear to light up a nearby set of dried twigs he had gathered.

"Hmph _yourself_," Amy retorted.

Silence settled between the both of them, and while she still may have been angry and hurt, Amy found herself not too lonely, safe, and warm now that someone had found her. Who, now that she realized, wasn't too bad looking, now that her attention was diverted away from Sonic.

After a while, Shadow spoke. "I wasn't sent here by Sonic or the others," he started. He paused, looking into the flames that were warming them both, before continuing: "I was scouting around on my own from up high when I noticed you running in this direction. I'd fought a few Gizoids and some scattered Nocturnus in the area, and when I saw you run into this cave I realized that you would end up being a lamb in the lion's den. So I followed."

"Oh." said Amy, ashamed. "Thanks. And I guess...I'm sorry for having flown off the handle at first."

"You're welcome."

"What were you scouting for?" she asked suddenly.

" Not sure exactly. I guess I was looking for a fight with more of the Nocturnus to further size them up for battle. Gizoids have made up the bulk of it, as you saw yourself." He paused, looking away from the flame and at her. "May I ask you the same?"

"The same what?" she asked, pretending to be oblivious to his question.

"Why you were out here, by yourself...," he trailed off.

"I..I'd rather not say," she said as her eyes flashed a warning to him. _Back off. I'm not going to discuss this with you. Period. _

It had the opposite effect, as it only broadened the smug smirk on his muzzle. "If I had a guess", he said as he stared back at her, "it most _definitely _has something to do with our hero leader..." The blush creeping upon her muzzle was proof enough, as he added. "As I suspected...

He's not worth the time or energy."

"Don't rub it in, Shadow," Amy moaned. "I know he's not worth it. I'm not stupid. I knew it like I know how to breathe air and yet I still LET him walk all over me and play me like a friggin' fiddle.

I...could care less about him, OR our mission, and I rather just sit here and watch his grand alliance go to hell for shits and giggles. There. Explanation given."

The two hedgehogs sat in silence, watching the flames fight and dance into the darkness. Amy sat there, soaking in the finality of her words. Was she really that intent on ruining all that he – _**they**_ had worked for on this adventure? By sitting here and not taking action at all? She wasn't sure, and when she had said what she said, she was certain that both her heart and mind were in agreement. But here she was, her heart crying for revenge while her mind told her to get up and move...if not for him, for the others, and for the sake of the world.

Yet the more she thought about it, the more she realized that she was starting to not care altogether...

"This is rich," the black hedgehog chuckled after a bit. He had been letting her words sink in and play on in his mind as well. "how the tables have turned, on you and I..." Seeing her perplexed expression, he continued, "I now have to remind _**you**_ of a reason to fight in the same manner that you did for me...back on the ARK."

Amy blinked, before the memory of what he spoke of slowly began to come back to her. He too, had once been intent on standing by as all hell broke loose and the world destroyed, out of spite and as revenge for the unjust taking of his friend, Maria. She had pleaded her case – that everyone, including him, deserved a chance at happiness hoped that it would get through to him.

It did. But given that she had been full of naivete and love for such a hopeless crush back then, she wasn't sure if it what she thought then could hold true now. She wasn't sure if it was worth giving happiness another shot, especially as the Nocturnus were the seemingly all powerful foe that awaited them.

"I told you that everyone deserved a chance at happiness that day," she said as tears swelled her field of view, "but I was a naïve little girl who _thought_ she had the power of love on her side. After seeing that side of Sonic, I don't even know if I want to believe in such a thing. He doesn't care for me, and I don't want to be further lead on if I were to go back. I'm not going to stand for him trying to butter me up _and_ give me the cold shoulder to keep me guessing. This back and forth isn't healthy, and I can't keep it up..."

Shadow then did something that, from Amy's perspective, was completely out of character. He kissed her. Eyes wide in shock and tears flowing, she kissed back, relishing the passionate, yet gentle kiss. They broke off moments later to catch a breath of air, and it was then that Amy noticed something different in Shadow's normally serious demeanor. His eyes were warm, inviting even, almost smiling in a way that she had thought Sonic's own emerald orbs had once upon a time.

"Come now..." Shadow trailed off as he gently nuzzled against her. "...I will not...no..I _refuse_ to let another that I care for be marred by that dreadful feeling of pain that I know all too well." He kissed her again, softly sucking on her lower lip as his tongue trailed across it. "...Please allow me the opportunity to make you happy."

Amy broke off the kiss, and inched away, starring at him with alternating expressions of bliss and reluctance. _"Is he really being serious?"_ was the question her mind was screaming right now, and after what she had been through today she wasn't sure if she wanted to find out. But the seed of curiosity had already been planted. She found herself drawn in by his sincere speech and his eyes...those normally fiery eyes of his seemed so warm and inviting. She had also kissed him back despite the fact that he had actually stolen her first kiss; she had long been the giver of kisses but had never received one as she had long hoped for Sonic to reciprocate. His kiss had felt electric, as if watts of energy had shot up her spine until they had reached her lips.

She found herself wanting more. _Much_ more.

Nervously she gazed back at him, anxious all the more as his gaze seemed to look inside of her. "Shadow," she said while wringing the hem of her dress with clenched hands, "...do you mean what you said about that promise? About making me happy?"

"Yes, I do." he replied softly.

"Well...", she trailed off. "..I have a request."

"Just ask." he said. "We don't have much time left."

She bit her lip, steeling herself as she re-pinned a heart fragment on her torn sleeve. "I want you to make love to me." she said bluntly. "Right here. Right now. If we fail, I don't want to regret not acting on what I'm feeling right now, and I think that's me wanting you."

"So be it..." he said as they kissed again.

They fell to the ground below, caressing, feeling...tasting what the other had to offer. The touch of skin upon skin and breath upon neck. Him feeling her breasts through the fabric of her dress or her reveling in the feel of the white patch of fur on his chest as they both succumb to the intoxication of lust.

His hands gradually traveled south, further manipulating her dress to his want, hiking up her petticoat and skirt to just above her navel. Gently, he used a hand to graze the fabric of her undergarment, before allowing a digit to maneuver around, first finding her button before trailing it along the passage below. Emboldened by a soft moan and a gentle thrust, he continued, adding another digit to the mix, before placing both inside of her warmth.

As her walls instinctively tightened around his digits, she pulled him in for a kiss, near spent on the actions of his hand alone. Breaking it off, she gasped as she felt _it_ for the first time, shuddering as it brushed against her inner thigh and wetness. She watched as the fire's light was only enough to illuminate the outline of his girth, both scaring and arousing her. Another touch of it against her passage even had her wonder if it could very well split her in two, while coming to the realization that she was once again vulnerable. More so than what she had been earlier, as she was not only allowing him free reign over her heart, but body as well.

And with that free reign she was given no warning as he entered, having pulled aside her panties just enough to be able to make the connection. She stifled whimpers in her throat as he continued on, clinging to both him and trembling as if she had been stabbed by a hot poker fresh from the fire. The corners of her eyes teared up as she clung to him still when he hilted her, bringing her to that ancient threshold between agony and pleasure.

He held her tight as she tightened around him, the warmth and pressure alone nearly prematurely extinguishing his passion. "...relax," he rasped as he brought his hips to meet hers. She complied, allowing him further movement and increased pace, as the sight before his eyes only encouraged him. Her unintelligible sighs and moans were music to his ears as he was allowed the privilege of giving her this pleasure, as well as receiving it in return. A pleasure which he knew she most likely had reserved for his rival, whom had lost his chance at it the moment he earned her scorn. She was now _his_ in this moment of passion, and he and he alone had both deflowered and rechristened her...

Sweat soaked their bodies as they continued on, divulging deeper into the cloud of lust that removed the world as they knew it. The Nocturnus...Sonic...none of that mattered to either as they were caught up in nothing but each other. She had all but forgotten about that, screaming the name of the one connected to her as he flooded her senses. His musky scent lingering in the air as his weight left her at the will and mercy of his passion. His throaty grunts in harmony with her own, as well as the rising lust in his crimson gaze.

And, as all good things must, they come to an end. His grunts became more needy and frantic, signifying a need for release. He pinned her down with his full weight, pulling her into a deep kiss as he released his essence inside of her. They both moaned into it, leaving a thin trail of saliva when they parted for breath, riding the last waves of pleasure that were crashing against their bodies as she tightened around his spent passion. She shuddered when he disengaged himself from her entanglement, missing both the passion and warmth that he had given her.

As he helped her to her feet, she couldn't help but feel overwhelmed by the new thoughts and feelings that were flowing into her heart as a result of this. She wasn't sure if what she was feeling for Shadow now was love or lust, or whether this moment of passion was to be a one time occurrence or ongoing future act. If anything, this act had created _more_ confusion within the depths of her heart and soul...

But he had not been in vain when he reminded her of her past words, as his essence had also planted the seeds of curiosity alongside her newly discovered reservations. She came to find that he had fulfilled his..no - their promise at happiness; by giving her the spark needed to fight on, and to see how things might play out.

And if worse came to worse, he had at least given them both a chance to be happy, if only for a moment.

...

* * *

_ Well, that was a whopper to type up. I haven't typed up a romantic scene in quite a while, so I might be rusty. I also had a bit of trouble as I've been proofreading Chapter 18 of Secret Affair and typing it up alongside this, and the constant switch between third person and first person was wrecking havoc with my prose. So I took a time out from the former to properly type this up and I think I like the result._

_ Also, for those of you familiar with Secret Affair, you've noticed that the tables have turned as this was, for the most part, a Shadow x Amy Rose fic. Not the general triangle I throw in my stories, but a somewhat obtuse one. I haven't gone in depth with the possibilities as some other writers who've written for this pairing, so I apologize if the clique of Sonic being a jerk offended some folks. I wasn't trying to do it on purpose, and this was mostly through Amy's experience, I would hope that the reader could see past that enough to get the sense of him still relatively being ambiguous about his feelings towards her. Thus putting him as the hypotenuse and the farthest away from Amy now in terms of romantic feelings. Shadow is currently closer to her by the story's end, but not by too much as the swarm of new feelings and issues that come with sex were catching up with her in the aftermath of their passion. _

_ As for Shadow's feelings towards her, yeah, I think I went and got clique with that too, for those of you familiar with the one scene in Sonic Adventure 2 that may have cemented this pairing for a lot of its fans. I take his desire towards making her happy as a genuine gratitude/respect for having reminded him of his true purpose in the world that may have grown into something more with the passage of time. There's a reason he was that rough with her. :D_

_ Finally, I can't promise this – but I hope that I'm finally able to update Secret Affair sometime soon. It is being written, and I hope that it will do the story justice when it's finally completed. Until then, I leave you guys with this to prove that I'm still alive (again), and that I still care that you all enjoy my storytelling (and that of my friend, Kawaii Sonikku). _


End file.
